Capella is one of the up and coming gadget companies in the Philippines that offers great value for money and performance in their products. As a perfect example, we loved how good sounding their Capella Curve Bluetooth Speaker and their how helpful the Andromedia powerbank to use. Aside from those first two devices, they also sent us an interesting looking in ear monitor called the SP11 for review. So let's begin!

Meet the SP11

Unboxing

Capella curve packaging

The Capella SP11 comes in a very simple box. Nothing too flashy and its very easy to open. The IEM also comes in 3 different colors: pink, blue and gold.

Specifications

Frequency: 20~20 khz

Driver Size: 10 mm

Impedance: 32 ohms

Sensitivity: 111 dB

Cable Length: 1.25m

Plug: 3.5mm Gold Plated

Accessories

Gel silicon tips

LAside from the Capella SP11 itself, the in ear monitors also included 3 sizes of silicon eartips to choose from. I would have liked it better though if they included even just a soft carrying case.

Build Quality

The gold plated 3.5mm plug

The Y-Splitter

Aesthetics-wise, the SP-11 is on an above average side. The body reminds me of the old A4tech in ear monitors before. It feels solid and won't break that easily unless you abuse the set. It has an aluminum body, durable looking cloth braided cables, metal strain reliefs and y slitter. I have one concern though, the strain relief can stress the cables sometimes when you bend it with force accidentally as it it not flexible, but overall I guess that this unit can last for a long while.

Comfort / Isolation / Microphonics

Capella SP11 body

Comfort-wise, the Capella SP-11 is a lightweight set that you can wear without noticing it. However, there are times that the edges of the metal hits your skin one may not like. As a solution, I used the largest tip available to wear it on a shallow fit for the best comfort possible. Isolation-wise, this unit has a lot of it, I just don't know how many dB it can isolate, but when you wear this you won't be able to hear the person beside you talking. So as most IEM, this is not advisable to wear while crossing the streets for your safety. This unit is also microphonic so you can wear it over-ear to lessen the cable noise.

Sound Quality

Earlier, I said that this unit is interesting. Why? It is because this unit has good audio quality for the price! It has that U shaped sound signature that's warm and smooth without sacrificing too much of the audio clarity. The bass extends deep, doesn't feel bloated and rumbles when needed. The vocals was also clear enough for most with good details. Then the highs the treble is also quite clear and comparable to the Mi Pistons 2.0/2.1. The soundstage is on the average side, but this has good vocal and instrumental separation. To my ears the sound of the SP11 this is a tad more refined than the bang per buck goodness of the Philips SHE3590.This set is also pretty easy to drive and responds very well to equalization. Overall, this is an enjoyable set that could be good with most genres like pop, rock and hiphop.

Lossless Tracks Used:

1. Better Days - Franco

2. Constantly - Nina Live!

3. American Idiot - Green Day

4. Shatter Me - Lindsey Stirling

5. Royals - LordeDAP Used:MyPhone Rio 2FiiO X1ASUS Transformer T100Pro's - Good sound for the price and durable build qualityCon's - Microphonic, have slightly sharp edges that could affect comfort (I stated a solution above)VerdictThis is one of the bargains in the sub 1K department. It has that good Capella house sound that can be good with most genres, decent build quality and good isolation. It is also fairly easy to drive that should work well even if you are just using your phone.